Tea for Two
by skybluescramble
Summary: They were once strangers. Enemies, even. But now they are more than friends. She will do anything to help him. He will give his everything to keep her safe. They are partners. They are lovers… Almost. LATEST UPDATE: CHAPTER 5.
1. Spring

from **skybluescramble** :

hello !

so, the newest volume of Detective Conan is just released in my country and suddenly I cannot stand not to write something about my favorite pairing: the invincible Conan-Ai. *kyaaaa!

when I (finally) realized what I am doing, I'm already in the middle of writing this chapter using my notebook even though I'm supposed to do my homework, hahaha.

this is (somehow) a sequel of **Memories in Mozaic** and will possibly have the same writing style.

I hope you can enjoy it.

thanks to **elmzala** for proofreading this.

OH.

and please leave me reviews.

* * *

DISCLAIMER:

Detective Conan/名探偵コナン

Gosho Aoyama©1994

* * *

**:: Tea for Two ::**

.

.

"_They were once strangers. Enemies, even. _

_But now they are more than friends._

_She will do anything to help him._

_He will give his everything to keep her safe._

_They are partners._

_They are lovers… Almost."_

.

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CUP #1:

**Spring**

.

_HOW strange_, thought Haibara Ai, as the swing on which she sat moved back and forth with the help of her feet kicking the ground. _Did I get fat? The swing seat seemed wider last month_, she mused with eyes focused at the clear sky. Last time she spent time in this very same park, she still found the seat spacious and could sit comfortably with her thighs parted wide. Today, she was surprised with the way that swing seat accommodated her body perfectly—not quite allowing parted-thighs anymore.

But of course, it hadn't been only a month time had passed.

In fact, it had been years.

For whatever reasons she couldn't recollect, she stopped coming to this particular small park after being a junior high school student.

Ai let out a small snort. She regretted it now. This small park, where kids from the neighborhood usually came to play together at weekend, has quite a good view thanks to various kinds of flowers and trees strategically planted there. There was also a big, tall, cherry blossom tree which was now in full bloom behind the swings. The cool breeze of spring blew the fallen petals towards her direction, and Ai reached out an arm, trying to catch one of them as she swung.

"Careful."

A deep voice behind her back startled her. Ai suddenly lost balance and stumbled forward, ready to hit the ground face first as she failed to grab the chain. Closing her eyes, she prepared herself to receive the pain but it never came. Instead, she felt a strong yank at her left arm and in the next moment found her back pressing against a hard plane. Presumably someone's chest.

"I just finished telling you to be careful," said the person who saved her. Ai turned her head to look at that person's face and scowled.

"You startled me." She answered, wriggling herself out of the grip of Edogawa Conan. "I was doing fine until you came."

He looked amused. "So it was my fault? I'm sorry, then."

"You don't mean it." The strawberry blonde-haired girl pointed out, arms crossed in front of her chest.

"Well, I saved you. So I atoned for my mistake already."

Ai didn't give him a reply. They simply stood in front of each other in silence for a few moments, examining each other's facial features. They remained that way until Ai sighed in defeat, uncrossed her arms and sat back on the swing.

"Why did you come?"

Conan smiled as he approached the unoccupied swing beside Ai and sat down. "Let's go home. You've been out since morning, right? It's past eleven. I'm sure you haven't eaten anything."

The girl gave him a sour smile.

"I don't feel like being home," she admitted. "It feels so… empty. I miss Professor Agasa."

Agasa Hiroshi just passed away last week. Conan looked at Ai's face attentively, noticing that there were tears in her eyes threatening to fall down her cheeks. He really felt sorry for her, but those who died will never come back to life.

"I miss him, too, that old man." Conan chuckled silently, causing Ai to look at him at his revelation. "But I think you have been coping with your loss pretty well, Ai. You act strong in front of people despite the fact that you're grieving. You convince them not to worry about you. Of course you cry and space out whenever you're alone, but it's only natural. It's okay to be sad. Professor was an important person to all of us, especially to you."

For awhile Ai seemed perplexed, but then she started to laugh. "I cannot believe you just gave me a speech."

Conan grinned in return. "I also can't believe I said those things."

"But," her laugh diminished, "I still don't want to go home. I feel…breathless there."

"You don't have to go back to professor's house, you know." Conan said while looking away, as out of the blue meeting her clear, turquoise eyes directly became difficult. Then he spoke a little too fast: "Cometomyhouse."

Ai blinked, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Pardon me? I didn't catch that one."

"I said that you can go to my house!" Face flushed from embarrassment, Conan turned his head to look at Ai, locking their gaze, unconsciously raising his voice to almost-shouting level. When he saw her shocked face, he continued to speak in a lower volume, still blushing beet-red. "If you aren't comfortable at professor's house, you can live in mine. There are lots of spare rooms there."

"What…"

Conan quickly cut her off. "I already told my mother. She was giddy with the idea. That way, you don't have to experience internal suffering every time you are home. On the other hand, I'll be glad to have a company. My family house is too big for living alone, I must admit. So it's a mutual symbiosis. You won't be a burden."

The breeze blew more fallen petals. They were floating around them, some of those pinkish petals fell on top of her head, and although Conan was sure he also had some stuck between his hair, he couldn't help but think how breathtaking Haibara Ai looked like now—with eyes widened and mouth slightly opened.

"Shinichi," she began, and he immediately knew that whatever feedback might come from her, it was serious. Up to this point, Ai never called him by his first name in casual occasion. "Is that okay?"

"Yes."

"I mean, really okay?"

"Yes."

"Did you… did you ask me what I think you asked me?"

A smile slipped out his lips. "I asked you to live with me. Yes."

When Ai dropped her gaze to look down at her knees and droplets of water wetted her joined hands as she cried noiselessly, Conan could hear her whispering continual "Thank you" in between silent sobs.

**.**

**Spring – end.**


	2. Morning

from **skybluescramble** :

hello again, guys!

your warm feedback really makes my day.

i'm genuinely happy here, so… this is the second chapter!

credit to all reviewers: **Guest**, **faiz1996**, **white-lily00**, **paprika**, **hai-edogawa**, **guest** (again), **TheYokaiOtaku**, **Eirlys**, and (another) **guest**.

last but not least… credit to **2nddairy**, my best friend for proofreading this.

enjoy, and leave me reviews!

hehe.

* * *

DISCLAIMER:

Detective Conan/名探偵コナン

Gosho Aoyama©1994

* * *

**:: Tea for Two ::**

.

.

CUP #2:

**Morning**

.

EDOGAWA Conan simply stared at the narrow back of Haibara Ai, who was busy wiping blotches of oil from the area around the stove using a piece of cloth. She was just done making breakfast for them—cooking was one of a few things she did every day since she started living in his house. It was a little shocking to know that the girl he ever referred as Droopy-Eyed Ice Queen could _actually_ cook almost anything. Well, it wasn't that he didn't know at all about her capability of cooking. Back then, when he was fallen ill, she treated him and made him some meals. They were delicious even to his bitter tongue, but they weren't tricky to whip up. Now that he knew what else she could make, Conan was—finally—convinced about the fair amount of femininity the girl possessed.

"Stop it." Ai spoke out of the blue, sending Conan back to reality.

He blinked stupidly. "What?"

"Stop staring at me," she repeated. "I've told you to eat first. No need to wait for me if you're hungry. Go ahead."

Conan shook his head. "Don't be ridiculous. Why should I eat alone if we can eat together? We'll look like an unhappy couple in a broken marriage."

He thought he accidentally piss her off when Ai turned around so swiftly. She looked at him for a moment with unreadable expression across her face, but then she cracked a smile and began to laugh. It wasn't a surprised giggle she usually had. Instead it was a free, heartily one and the sound of her laughter rang around the dining room like a bell.

It couldn't be helped if Conan thought how beautiful her laughter sounded.

And contagious, too, because now he was chuckling as well.

"That," Ai said breathlessly while wiping her teary eyes due to excessive laughing, "was funny."

"You think so?"

The strawberry blonde-haired girl nodded, shrugging off her apron and putting it at its proper place. "For an absurd reason, my brain chose to imagine Detective Mouri and his wife. Were they like that, Kudo? Before they decided to get back together?"

Conan didn't answer right away. It was quite difficult to recollect Kudo Shinichi's childhood. Many events and happenings were now only blurs. The days he spent being Edogawa Conan and played around with the rests of Detective Boys had taken the biggest part in his memory department.

"I had never seen them eat separately, I guess. No matter how they always squabbled, Uncle Kogoro and Aunt Eri never failed to stay civil during meal time. Probably it was for Ran's sake."

"Wow." Ai sat down on a dining chair across Conan and filled her plate. "They really love each other more than they think they do."

"That's why they got back together."

"I guess so."

Ai raised her face, smiling, and Conan couldn't remember if there was any moment when she looked more beautiful than now.

**.**

**Morning – end.**


	3. Friendship

from **skybluescramble** :

hello !

thank you very much to all of you who read, and especially left reviews: **ll'armien**, **Hotaru Miyano**, **pingpong2411**, **zXFallenAngelsXz**, **white-lily00**, and **paprika**.

here's another update.

proofreader credit: **elmzala**.

enjoy!

* * *

DISCLAIMER:

Detective Conan/名探偵コナン

Gosho Aoyama©1994

* * *

**:: Tea for Two ::**

.

.

CUP #3:

**Friendship**

.

IT was the second weekend since new school term started and all Detective Boys members (though not-so-boys anymore) were giddy to have a meeting at their headquarters, as known as Agasa Hiroshi's house. That explained why Haibara Ai and Edogawa Conan had been busy cleaning the whole house since early morning. They hadn't told Genta, Mitsuhiko, and Ayumi—and didn't plan to tell—that Ai moved out from there, so if they found the place to be dirty and dusty it definitely would raise suspicions considering Ai was considerably a perfectionist.

"I know what you're thinking," said Conan with a big, goofy grin across his face. He entered the kitchen in which Ai was waiting the water to boil so that she could prepare some tea, opening the almost-empty refrigerator and nodded in approval. He was just done throwing all food (fat-free meats, veggies, milk) that had gone bad, in the end clearing more than two-third of the fridge's space.

Ai peeked at him from under her bangs. "Really? And what am I thinking?"

"Professor." His triumphant grin softened as it changed to a concerned one. "You miss him."

"You're making fun of me." She sighed, turning around in an act of pretense that she didn't see him there.

Conan smiled knowingly. "No, I am not. I miss him, too."

"You do?"

The doubt was still prominent on her face.

"More than anything." Conan assured, his smile somehow turned a little pained. "But we have to let him go, otherwise he won't be able to rest peacefully. Let's not be sad as we remember him." The bespectacled boy stopped for awhile, giving Ai a chance to respond if she wanted to, but when the girl didn't say anything in return he continued. "All the memories left are precious ones, right? So let's smile and be happy as we reminisce the past."

The blank, dumbfounded look Ai gave him for the whole next minute made him nervous.

"W-what?" He stammered, "Why… why are you looking at me like that?"

Her dumbstruck expression quickly cracked into a wide grin. It was her usual sarcastic grin, and despite being annoyed, somehow Conan felt relieved with it.

"I never thought you would be able to pull some good words."

Conan was about to give a similar witty remark when the doorbell rang, followed by knocking sounds from the front door. Genta, Mitsuhiko, and Ayumi had arrived.

"I'll get it," said him instead.

Ai nodded. "I'll bring out tea and cookies later."

After graduating from high school, five members of the Detective Boys went separate ways. It wasn't like their friendship had ended, but things weren't same anymore with the way they were. Edogawa Conan enrolled in a famous law school to pursue a career as a detective. Tsuburaya Mitsuhiko and Haibara Ai, though both went to Tokyo University, were taking different major. The freckled boy wanted to follow Agasa's path somewhat and chose Mechanical Engineering, while Ai—as predicted—took Chemistry. Yoshida Ayumi, who wished to be a kindergarten teacher, attended a pedagogic academy in Haido City. And the leader of the gang, Kojima Genta, surprised everyone by getting a scholarship to a prestigious cooking school (he had been dreaming about owning a big restaurant which serves the best eel in the world).

"Hey guys—"

"Conan-kun!"

"Conan!"

"Yo, man!"

Out of the blue Conan felt as though he was under attack. A tight bear hug around his torso, an enthusiastic tap on his left shoulder, and a powerful jab on the right one came simultaneously even before he had a chance to blink and finish his greeting. One moment later and he was finally able to see three familiar faces clearly, all of them wearing the same ear-to-ear happy grin.

"Well," Conan cleared his throat, fixing the position of his glasses, "you look great. That's good."

Ayumi pushed him backwards to make some way so she could enter the house, calling out. "Ai-chan? We bought some treats!"

"Where is Haibara-san?" asked Mitsuhiko to Conan. He slipped off his shoes and neatly arranged them on the shoe rack available. "Genta-kun, don't kick off your shoes like that! The dirt will scatter everywhere! The one cleaning this house is Haibara-san, you know."

"Sorry. Old habits die hard." Genta hurriedly fetched his shoes and placed them beside Mitsuhiko's, seemed sheepish.

Conan waited until they put on their slippers before replying to Mitsuhiko's question. "She's in the kitchen making tea. Come on, we'll talk in the living room. Yesterday I borrowed a few good movies from Tsutaya, we can watch them together later."

"Whoa," beamed Genta. "DVDs?"

"Yeah."

The big guy went on. "I always wanted to see the new James Bond film. You see, that Skyball stuff which was released in Japan just last year, but unfortunately we were so busy preparing for examination and I couldn't manage to squeeze it into my schedule."

Mitsuhiko gave him a strange look. "Skyball?"

"It's the movie title."

"Oh," said Mitsuhiko, now that he understood. "It's _Skyfall_, not Skyball. You really sucks at English, aren't you Genta-kun?"

Smiling inwardly, Conan didn't interfere in the conversation going behind his back. Actually yesterday he also borrowed the DVD Genta so wanted to see from the video rental, despite it wasn't exactly his cup of tea. Conan took out one romance-comedy movie as well, knowing Ayumi loved such thing. Ai was more like a film predator, she was someone who enjoys watching every genre and Conan never heard Mitsuhiko complain about not liking a certain type of entertainment, so both of them should be okay.

However, wasn't it the meaning of a gathering with your friends?

It never mattered what you do and where you are, because the only thing that matters was the people you were with.

**.**

**Friendship – end.**


	4. Sleepover

from **skybluescramble** :

hello !

thanks for your reviews (**paprika**, **Il'armien**, **pingpong2411**, **white-lily00**, and **Guest**).

lately I'm finding difficulties to squeeze "Writing" into my schedule, but I hope you can understand.

real life and time are really against me… *sigh

but this is the update, and the proofreader credit goes to **2nddairy**.

read and please review.

* * *

DISCLAIMER:

Detective Conan/名探偵コナン

Gosho Aoyama©1994

* * *

**:: Tea for Two ::**

.

.

"GOOD evening." Haibara Ai greeted politely as she entered the front door of Yoshida family's house, somehow feeling nervous and out-of-place. Tilting her face in uncertainty, her eyes met Ayumi's warm ones, and the bandanna girl gave a soothing, kind smile. "Sorry for the intrusion."

"Ai-chan, come on!" Ayumi chided, signaling Ai to quickly remove her shoes. "I want you to see my parents!"

Today was Friday night and Haibara Ai was successfully persuaded (half forced, in fact) to have a sleepover at Ayumi's house. Actually, Ayumi had been persistent about the sleepover thing since they were in fifth grade, but Ai always managed to get away from it with a classic excuse: "We meet every day at school anyway."

However, things changed.

The recent condition didn't allow them to meet every morning anymore. Ayumi noticed this difference and used it for her advantages. She knew Ai would ask for reasons behind the invitation, so she followed Edogawa Conan's advice and stated, "Because I missed you, Ai-chan. It's been a long time since the last time we chat privately."

Conan had told Ayumi that it'd probably be best if she is just being plain honest instead of creating a supposed-to-be a touching, melodramatic reason. He said, "Ayumi-chan, she'd know when you're not telling the truth. Ai is a living, flesh-and-blood kind of lie detector machine." The bespectacled teenager laughed heartily. "Just tell her what you think, what you feel. I guarantee she won't be able to refuse you."

And goddamn he was right.

Now Ayumi got Haibara Ai trying to slip her shoes off in her doorway, a medium-sized floral-patterned backpack filled with clothes and other things was slung across her back.

Oh, definitely a sleepover.

Still smiling widely, Ayumi ran towards the kitchen, calling out. "Mom! Mom! Ai-chan is here! Is dinner ready?"

* * *

CUP #4:

**Sleepover**

* * *

WHEN both Ayumi and Ai slipped into their pajamas, it was already past eleven. To be truthful, Ai thought she was having a great time. Dinner was noisy, and the food was beyond delicious. All members of the Yoshida family were kind, attentive, and caring, not to mention that Mr. Yoshida was quite witty. While eating, they talked about many things for two hours straight on the dining table and then she and Ayumi help Mrs. Yoshida cleaning up. After all the dishes were washed, wiped, and placed back on the rack, they joined the rest of family members in the living space watching TV. As they waited their turn for bath, they enjoyed a big bowl of oranges—second dessert, the first one was Mrs. Yoshida's handmade chocolate pudding—while watching variety shows, sometimes laughing unceremoniously together.

"Ai-chan?" Ayumi's voice broke Ai's reverie. "Are you okay?"

The strawberry blonde-haired girl nodded. "Yes."

"You looked lost."

"I was… um, recalling several things," she gave a feeble attempt to explain. "No big deal, Ayumi-chan."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Okay, then." Ayumi sighed. "Help me arrange the futons?"

"Sure."

There was no bed in Ayumi's room. She used futons for sleep; took them out from the cupboard when she wanted to go to bed and folded them again in the morning. So, they arranged two futons parallel to each other with no space between them because, somehow, they knew they wouldn't fall asleep any soon. Ayumi then draped a thick quilt wide enough to cover their futons and slipped her feet beneath it as she sat down.

"Nee, Ai-chan. Are you going out with Conan-kun?"

Ai choked on her own tongue. She turned around to face Ayumi in rapid movement, her tone was an octave too high than it should be when she said, "What?"

Ayumi raised a brow challengingly. Trying hard not to blush, Ai swallowed and spoke again, this time she got her normal tone. "Of course we are. We're friends, friends go out together."

"You know that isn't what I mean."

Ai couldn't answer to that.

Yoshida Ayumi, of all people, has successfully got Haibara Ai tongue-tied.

Oh, this was news.

Despite her intuition telling that she guessed it right, Ayumi didn't push Ai further. It would only provoke discomfort. Instead, she decided to tell her own confession. The corner of her lips twitched upwards, forming a small excited grin. She was eager to know how Ai would react.

"By the way, I'm dating one of my seniors right now."

"Well, that's good to—_what?_"

Ai stared at her, unblinking, mouth agape.

If only Ayumi had her camera right now, she would like to take a candid picture.

"I have a boyfriend now."

There was a dead silence for several seconds.

"W-what? How come? W-when did you…?" Ai stumbled for words and failed miserably. This was another first for her. She had never felt so taken aback with this kind of revelation before. She had never cared, actually. Yet this time she was surprised. Curious, too. Everyone in the Detective Boys knew that Ayumi had a crush on Edogawa Conan since they were kids, even though she kept silent all the time. And now she had a boyfriend?

Ayumi looked at Ai, smiling, as she was intensely examining every single reaction that was visible on her friend's face.

"I confessed to him two weeks ago," Ayumi began spilling the story. "We joined the same open discussion after class. I liked him almost immediately." She let out the usual girlish giggles, blushing scarlet. When she realized that Ai still had her dumbfounded expression, Ayumi stopped giggling and tried to get serious again.

"I know what you're thinking, Ai-chan." Ayumi said in a voice so sure that made Ai think the girl might have read her mind. "But you don't have to worry. I don't like Conan-kun in _that_ way anymore. I still like him very much, but it's just not the same."

Finally regaining her senses, Ai moved to sit on her side of futons. "I didn't…"

"You're lying and you know it, Ai-chan." The tone in Ayumi's voice was so calm and collected, as though she had been rehearsing for this conversation since long. "I gave up on Conan-kun years ago. Perhaps it was when we were in junior high."

"Why?" Ai asked softly.

The black-haired girl smiled. "Simple. I can't understand him so much as you can. We're incompatible. I guess it's true that opposite attracts. Nonetheless, similarities and compatibilities are factors that make somebody stays. And the one with same wavelength as Conan-kun between us two is you, Ai-chan."

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing." Ayumi grinned sheepishly. "Just saying. Oh, yesterday we went to a photo box together. Don't you want to see his face?"

Ai blinked. She felt somewhat disoriented. "Who?"

"My boyfriend, of course! He's quite handsome, in my opinion. I'm sure you'll say so after I show you the picture."

And without dilly-dallying, Ayumi rose to her feet and walked towards her desk. She grabbed her bag before starting to dig its contents. She still had a lot to tell, a lot to share with Haibara Ai. The night was still young, after all.

**.**

**Sleepover – end.**


	5. Promise

from **skybluescramble** :

hello again!

actually I don't know what to say, but honestly, reading your feedback really makes my day.

this chapter is slightly longer than the previous ones, by the way.

proofreader credit: **elmzala**.

reviewer credit: **_shatteredswan_**, **paprika**, **hai-edogawa** (would you mind to point out the weirdness? I'll be delighted to know), **marutaro**, **Guest**, and **white-lily00**.

read and review, please.

* * *

DISCLAIMER:

Detective Conan/名探偵コナン

Gosho Aoyama©1994

* * *

**:: Tea for Two ::**

.

.

CUP #5:

**Promise**

.

INSPECTOR Megure Juuzo swept his gaze at the people in front of him, his body rigid, his lips pressed into a thin line. He was wearing his deadly-serious look. Detective Chiba, Takagi Wataru, Sato Miwako, Shiratori Ninzaburo, Edogawa Conan, and Haibara Ai were staring back at him anxiously, as if waiting for his commands.

Actually, they were.

Right now they were in an emergency base camp made from a tent because the MPD—Metropolitan Police Department—teams were securing the perimeter of Haido Bank in which a group of terrorist was executing their robbery plan. Those bastards were keeping hostages, of course, and that's why Inspector Megure couldn't give any command to attack.

"Well," Edogawa Conan let out a small fake cough to drive attention, "Let's think through it one more time. We can't panic."

Inspector Megure seemed as though he just got a splash of water on the face. "Yeah." He cleared his throat, "Yeah. Conan-kun is right. We can't panic. Let's resume whatever we know and make a plan."

Takagi opened his pocket notebook. "There was nothing strange caught by the surveillance camera on the street across Haido Bank. At 10:54 am, around eight people could be seen running frantically from the Bank. Presumably, the robbers are dressed up as customers."

"That way, they won't attract any attention. The surveillance camera on streets also wouldn't be able to catch them because they look like usual civilians." Sato rubbed her chin, nodding subtly in understanding. "Clever."

"Those fleeing people are probably customers who were waiting in line to draw cash." Chiba added. "Or they walked into the bank exactly when the robbers began to execute their attack."

"And we have known that the culprits are more than two people," Shiratori joined in the conversation. "Or at least that's what Conan-kun said."

Conan gave a sharp nod. He seemed completely sure. "Yeah. There must be three people at the very least. Because the main door of Haido Bank was later closed, locked, and guarded. It's not the work for two people, they need someone to watch the door, someone to do the work of making a call to us—the police, and someone to keep scaring the hostages."

The bespectacled boy shared a look with his partner, who signaled her agreement. "And thanks to the call, we now know that they don't aim for money."

Inspector Megure nodded curtly.

"Which makes things more difficult, if it's even possible."

"I think we should negotiate."

Shiratori gave Conan an odd look. "For what?"

"The hostages, of course." Sato said, getting the cue. "We'll ask them to release the hostages and offer them something in return."

"But… what can we offer to them?"

A dead silence followed after Takagi's question. Even Conan couldn't give an immediate answer to that.

"How about exchanging hostages?"

All eyes were abruptly set on Haibara Ai. Inspector Megure seemed interested as much as seemed bewildered, and he beat everyone to ask the strawberry blonde-haired girl. "Tell us your idea, Haibara-kun."

"Like I said. We'll exchange hostages. They release the civilians held there and we give someone from us to be taken as the hostage instead. If their aim isn't money, then they perhaps won't find any problem with that deal. However, if they actually have a grudge against the government or police, they will see the deal as a beneficial one."

A slight smile appeared on the Inspector's face. "Haibara-kun, you're getting sharper."

"That's what I got when I spend more than twelve hours of my daily life with a mystery freak, Inspector." She replied dryly. "But, thank you. I'll take the compliment."

Conan rolled his eyes. He mumbled sardonically, only loud enough for Ai who sat on his left side to hear. "Oh yeah, that's funny. Ha ha."

"I have a question, Inspector." Shiratori spoke.

"Spill."

"Which one of us will you send there?"

Frankly speaking, Inspector Megure was a little startled at this. Maybe he just hadn't thought about it.

For a moment there was an absolute silence.

"What about me?"

Once more, all heads turned to the same direction and five pardon-me-did-i-hear-that-right looks were directed at Haibara Ai. The one and only who had different facial expression was Conan. He was having a tell-me-you-are-bloody-joking look all over his features. He hissed right on her ear, "Hell no."

Unfortunately she pretended not hearing it.

"I volunteer. I'll be the hostage on our behalf."

"We can't," said Sato after a moment. "You're a civilian. We simply can't let you do that. It's our duty to protect you."

"Sato-san, you know I'm not _just_ a civilian. All of you, in fact. I'll be alright, and by pulling this plan right, you can still protect me. By me going there, you can freely move and do something that can put an end to this."

"But you're not even a police." Chiba pointed out.

"Not a big deal. You can dress me up. I'm sure there's plenty of women in MPD who has the same size as me. We can swap our clothes."

"And the badge? I'm sure those bastards will check."

"I can forge one in less than an hour."

Noticing the amount of raised eyebrows around her, Ai chose to put on the best, unbeatable child-like look and asked innocently, "What? I know that's a crime, but did you really not expect me to be able to do such thing, given my past?"

Inspector Megure rubbed his palms, somewhat hesitating. But then he squared his shoulders in determination.

"Alright, Haibara-kun. I'll take your offer. But must I emphasize that this is dangerous." He pressed on the last three words before continuing, "We'll give you the fake badge so there isn't necessary to commit a crime and I promise we'll find a perfect-fit suit for you."

"Thank you, Inspector. I'll be careful."

Ai didn't dare to look at Conan's face, His eyes had to be swirling with unspoken emotions and she couldn't handle it. Not at this moment. He should not change her decision.

* * *

AI had just finished buttoning the last button of her crisp white blouse and slipped into a charcoal-colored skirt which ends up modestly several centimeters above her knees when Sato came into the tent. It had changed from an emergency meeting room to an emergency fitting room.

"I've got you the footwear," she said. Then she put down a pair of low-heeled shoes on the floor near where Ai was standing. The girl with strawberry blonde hair stole a glance at them and her brows furrowed.

"Are those Prada?" She asked in disbelief. "Who in MPD wears Prada when she's on duty?"

Sato shrugged nonchalantly. "These are Yumi's. Miyamoto Yumi, the traffic officer. You know her, don't you?"

"Yes, I do." Ai replied. "Oh, and thank you very much, Sato-san."

The female investigator sat down on a wooden stool next to a table full with Ai's skinny jeans, sweater, and sneakers. "Haibara-san, do you know how to use a gun?"

A nod was her answer.

"And have you ever shot it? You know, it's because the theories are sometimes different with the real thing. Gun is one of them."

"I have," said Ai, slipping into her suit jacket. "Never shoot anybody, though."

"That's good. I'm relieved, to be honest." Sato wriggled on her stool a bit as she rummaged her skirt pocket. "So, I'm going to lend you my gun. They probably will pat you down to find weapon, so I suggest you use a holster and put it at your inner thigh. There's a chance that they won't find out."

Next, she tossed the holster on the table.

And Edogawa Conan chose that moment to walk in.

"Well, I'll just… go." Swiftly, Sato rose on her feet and gestured at the way out, leaving the two alone.

Conan turned around, closed the only entrance to the room and locked it, making sure that no one would get the opportunity to disturb them. The air between them immediately became thicker. It was filled with tension and anticipation, for Ai knew that Conan would snap at her soon.

_Very_ soon.

"Are you mad?" She whispered, still not looking at him.

The college detective let out a sarcastic chuckle. "Oh yeah. Extremely."

"I'm sorry."

Finally, Ai dared to meet him in the eye. They looked into each other's eyes, seeking the truth behind those orbs. The silence was tense, and she knew that he was, indeed, so damn angry.

Because of that, she would let a strip of honesty slip out.

They were partners, after all.

And they shared a house.

They couldn't have a stupid fight over a matter like this.

She stepped on those Prada shoes. _Hm, comfy_.

"I volunteered because I know you can be trusted." She confessed. "You'll find a way to stop them, Kudo. And as long as you manage to catch the terrorists on time, I will be safe. We always believe in you. And never once I doubted you."

She waited, but he didn't say anything.

"Detective Sato gave me her gun," Ai went on, speaking to him nonchalantly as she adjusted the waistline of the skirt. "Take it. You'll make the better use of it than me."

Conan shook his head. "Ai, I cannot."

"Take it. I insist. They will pat me down, obviously, and if they can feel the holster I use to latch the gun and ask me to raise my skirts—like this—it will be over."

As she spoke, Ai hitched her dark charcoal skirt upwards and swung her right leg to rest on top of a stool. Grabbing the empty holster, she placed it on her exposed thigh and then slipped a small device between the band and her skin. She let Conan take a peek on whatever she hid under the holster before fixing her clothes.

A Detective Boys badge.

"I have turned on the tracker and set the recorder to be activated in the next ten minutes. You don't have to worry about me." Ai explained, pulling up her shoulder-length hair to a high ponytail. "The badge is small enough to be overlooked. It'll be fine."

Stepping forward, Conan closed the excess distance between them. He was now standing right behind her, close enough to smell the honey-scented shampoo she always washes her hair with.

"I'll protect you."

She smiled, yet without turning around. "I know."

"I won't let you be harmed." He said through gritted teeth. Ai, who sensed his emotional war, finally looked over her shoulder, her head turned partially to show him her smiling face.

"It will be okay, Shinichi."

They stood still, neither spoke as they were both aware of the thickening atmosphere between them. It was as though out of the blue the air had been charged with an electric, exhilarating anticipation. Perhaps they could just blame the close proximity, or the nice whiff of her tresses, or the fact that she would go to a building guarded by a group of—presumably—armed terrorists.

"Oh, fuck this world." Conan growled.

One of his hands grabbed Ai by her ponytail and turned her to face him fully. He lunged forward, pushing her back against the edge of the only table available there. His other hand snaked its way around her waist and crushed her body to his, both of her palms flat on his chest. Easily, he tilted her face up by yanking down her neatly-tied ponytail and his lips slanted over hers. The sudden movement and pressure made Ai yelp, giving him an opening, and he took it without hesitation. His tongue tentatively explored the insides of her warm cavern; he didn't need long time before Ai started trembling under his hold.

"Shinichi." She whispered in between his kisses and pull of lips, her voice breathy. "I really need to go."

With great hesitation, Conan pulled away. He let them calm down for a minute, foreheads pressed together—the boy had to bend forward to decrease their height difference. Then his head shifted some inches to one side, dragging feathery kisses along her temple only to stop at her earlobe.

Placing another kiss at the crown of her head, Conan released Ai from his embrace. It took him a great effort to do so, and he inwardly hoped that he had made the right decision. "I'll bring you back." He murmured.

It was his promise.

His oath.

And the young detective would do anything necessary to keep it.

"Now go."

**.**

**Promise – end.**


End file.
